Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I disappeared. I went on a swimming weekend out with friends, but because of the cold water and the changeable weather, I got really sick. Even now I've got a cold, and my coughing hasn't stopped yet. Cold weather and I have never agreed with each other (I still wonder how I was able to last so long during Christmas vacation last year in California). I'm also not feeling up to anything lately, to be honest, because I've begun disliking what my job so much. XP I do hope everyone's doing well. I mean, even Mum is sick too. D: (I'm taking care of her I promise! ;o;)

The recent Filcosplay/Cosplay.Ph party was fun, but I'm sure I'd prolly have enjoyed more if I was physically better. I mean, the pool was fairly shallow (but the water was hella COLD XP), the location was splendid, and there were tons of games and food to be had, plus a couple of laughs too. Although unfortunately, a rather notable sigh that was seen by all of us can no longer be unseen. X_x000 Thanks to everyone from who came, and good job to all of us who were there on the organizing side! d^0^b

Friday, May 16, 2008

As y'all may have noticed, I'm a tad obsessed with cute things. I guess it comes with the territory of being a fangirl of Japanese pop culture. And few things could possibly be cuter than sticker pictures or purikura!

Sticker pictures can be had at special photobooths, usually in arcades or unused corners of the mall. The older booths (I mean, 1990s sticker picture booths) allowed you only to pick your background or border (or both, but that was rare), then your photo was taken, then you waited a bit until it published. Now, the booths usually let you have your photo taken first, then you can pick borders or go all-out in doodling all over the purikura within a set timeframe. The insanity of it all has always made it fun for group shots, especially if you're amazing and can fit around 10 people in a booth meant for 4 (I've tried it). Oh, and don't forget to wait for your sticker print to dry a few minutes after it comes out of the slot in the booth!

It's sad that I'm older now and my friends and I don't have as much time - or inclination - to go to the booths, since they're always heaps of fun. But, thankfully, a website called Puricute (http://www.puricute.com) was developed so you can turn any digital picture of your liking into a soft-copy version of purikura! You can even pay for it to be delivered to you as a bonafide sticker picture set, for real cheap too (shipping is free within the USA). But right now, for me just decorating my photos is enough. XD

Here's an album of my Puricute photos, lemme know what y'all think! ;3

I'm not sure if I've indicated this on my profile, but I am a die-hard foodie. I'm a die-hard foodie to the point that I know I'm going to die by overeating a certain piece of food - what it is yet I'm not really sure though, so it's possible I'll die by overeating in general. XD;

But enough of death. As I was saying I'm a die-hard foodie and so I enjoy eating out immensely. I have been to a lot of restaurants, cafes, bars and eateries here in my hometown, Metro Manila, and thanks to my blog-happy sister I've begun taking photos of my food. I just LOVE the sight of food, it makes my mouth water. And I hope that my photos have that same effect on you! XD; (Don't forget to CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS to get the large photos. ;3)

First, we have the lovely Kapampangan (Pampanga province-themed) restaurant Abe, in the boutique mall One Serendra in Fort Bonifacio, City of Taguig. It's home to the best Ensalatang Pako (fern-based vegetable salad, with boiled egg, and onions), Binukadkad na Pla-pla (fried tilapia cut up and made to unfurl like a fan) and expensive Spicy Sisig in Metro Manila, among other things. XD I especially love their Lumpiang Ubod (steamed egg "crepe" roll filled with vegetables and garnished with peanuts, garlic and sweet peanut sauce) because the vegetables they use for it are very fresh - you can tell by the taste. Highly recommended.

Next is the lovely niche known as Cafe Juanita. Tucked inside a tiny home in the corner of a busy street in Barrio Kapitolyo in Pasig City, this "hole in the wall" began as exactly that, catering to taxi drivers and other blue-collar denizens making their way through the barrio. However, as the cook had never lost his aspirations to become top chef (he used to work in a cruise ship, or so I'm told), he decided to steadily upgrade the place into a swanky, slow-food cafe serving Filipino and Southeast Asian cuisine in a sea of antiques and Southeast Asian bric-a-brac. It's won great recognition and a lot of positive buzz, noteworthy among them the praises and recommendations heaped by no less than the Philippine Tatler - and twice! Although not all of their food are my favourites, I will admit Cafe Juanita does cooked fish exceptionally well, and everything tastes reasonably good and reasonably priced. It was a recent discovery of mine, having been brought there for my birthday by the family last month. Too bad I don't remember a single name of what I ate, except for the Kinilaw (raw fish in vinegar, see 2nd and 4th photos) which didn't really taste so good. D:

For geeks into Greek (bad pun, I know XD;;;), the best place to go is Cyma. With four branches in four select upscale malls in the metro, it's accessible enough but still undeniably exuding class. The atmosphere is warm and familial; it always feels like I'm coming home no matter what time of day I'm here. And the food is superbly prepared, though I will have to warn you that their lamb dishes aren't always easy to cut up, and their Greco-Mediterranean desserts are a bit on the cloyingly sweet side. Try their couscous, kebabs, pita bread and pasta, and bring your appetite because the servings are extra-large by Asian standards (though they are pretty reasonable for European and American palates).

Let's take a short day trip outside the metro and enjoy the spectacular provincial venue of Sonya's Garden. Originally just an organic botanical paradise for its owner, it soon expanded into food after Sonya realised that her friends were going there for her cooking as well. Of course, if you grow your own food, and the healthy type at that, you will always be patronised no matter where your customers are coming from. Besides its signature vegetable salad in cream-and-onion vinegarette, the set meal of Sonya's includes pasta (the kind of pasta you get varies between "seasons" or the four quarters of the year), juice (normally dalandan, or the local orange) and some sweet dessert (usually either local fare like bananas dipped in hot caramel, or foreign fare like tiny slices of creamy, icing-rich cake ... lol, so much for keeping healthy XD;;;). All in all the food is worth the day trip. ♥

Back in the Metro, Xocolat is a franchise cafe specializing in chocolate, undoubtedly the best export of Aztec, Incan and Mayan civilizations. My favourite branch would have to be the one in Eastwood City, Qnezon City, as it's outdoors and literally right in the center of the Eastwood plaza square, and for the fact that my boyfriend and I had our first date there. ♥ Also, this branch doesn't serve the chocolate too thickly or sweetly as the other branches do. I am completely enamoured with their hot chocolate drinks ... thick, bittersweet and perfect for a rainy day. ♥ (My boyfriend prefers the iced chocolate-coffee concoctions better, since he finds the Philippines a terribly hot place. XD;)

Closer to home is Tsoko.Nut, a fastfood cafe built to reinstate and focus on Philippine chocolate culture. Although it serves modern food like Spaghetti and Pancit (Chinese pasta), its true star is the chocolate made into tablets, and then mashed with a special mortar and pestle called collectively as a batirol, making the drink a refreshingly bittersweet experience. The Arroz a la cabana (pictured here) eaten by my boyfriend was terribly dry in comparison. Oh well!

And now here are some random bits of food. Bonus points and a nifty little online surprise to anyone who can guess where these photos are from! (Hint: only 2 are in one place; the rest are in different places.)

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Frustrated girl is bloody frustrated.Wavering at work (half the problem is with me, I know, and I'm working on it), the internet frustrating me with random disconnection (both at home and at work), my weight still being inconsistent and my fat still not melting no matter what I do at the gym... blah. Tips anyone? One more thing, please buy my stuff! :3 I can assure you I took good care of these things. v^_^vThe Povedan shirt is right this way, for those who may be interested (which I doubt, judging from my friends' list, harharhar): Little Miss Povedan Shirt.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

LOL, I can't just say na niyaya ako ni Kaye (my younger sister), though ultimately she did convince me to go. I've been contemplating on looking prettier for some time, and worrying over the increasing thinness and hairfall of my already sparse eyelashes. XD;;; I think I'm becoming too vain for my own good, and it's starting to scare me... O_o

PS everything cost me only PhP1,000.00. Not bad if you consider that there was a manicure, pedicure with foot massage, and threading done to my eyebrows. hearts;